CHAPTER XII--A NUMBER OF INTRODUCTIONS
"We must run, Ruthie!" Helen declared, instantly. "Now, there's no usein our trying to face down that goat. Discretion is the better part ofvalor---- Oh!"
The goat just then shook his horns and charged. Ruth was not much behindher chum. She saw before Helen, however, that they were running rightaway from the Steele premises.
"We're getting deeper and deeper into trouble, Helen," she panted."Don't you _see?_"
"I can't see much. Oh! there's a tree we can both climb, I am sure."
"But I don't want to climb a tree," objected Ruth.
"All right. You stay down and play tag with Mr. Billy Goat. Me for thehigh and lofty!" and she sprang up as she spoke and clutched the lowlimb of a widely branching cedar.
"I'll never leave my pal!" Ruth declared, giggling, and jumping foranother limb.
Both girls had practiced on the ladders in the school gymnasium and theyquickly swung themselves up into the tree. The goat arrived almost onthe instant, too. At once he leaped up with his fore-feet against thebole of the tree.
"My goodness me!" gasped Helen. "He's going to climb it, too."
"You know goats _can_ climb. They're very sure-footed," said her chum.
"I know all that," admitted Helen. "But I didn't suppose they couldclimb trees."
The goat gave up _that_ attempt, however, very soon. He had no idea, itseemed, of going away and leaving his treed victims in peace.
He paced around and around the cedar, casting wicked glances at thegirls' dangling feet, and shaking his horns in a most threatening way.What he would do to them if he got a chance would "be a-plenty," Helendeclared.
"Don't you suppose he'll get tired, bye and bye?" queried her chum,despondently.
"He doesn't look as though he ever got wearied," returned Helen. "What asavage looking beast he is! And such whiskers!"
"I wouldn't make fun of him," advised Ruth, timidly. "I believe heunderstands--and it makes him madder! Oh! see him!"
Mr. Goat, impatient of the delay, suddenly charged the tree and bangedagainst it with his horns in a desperate attempt to jar down the girlsperched above.
"Oh, the foolish billy!" cooed Helen. "We're not ripe enough to drop offso easily. But he thinks we are."
"You can laugh," complained Ruth. "But I don't think this is much fun."
"Not for the goat, anyway. He is getting so angry that he may haveapoplexy. Let's shout. Maybe the boys will hear us."
"Not 'way down here, I fear," returned Ruth. "We can't hear a sound from_them_. But let's try."
They raised their voices in unison, again and again. But there came noreply, save that a number of Mr. Billy Goat's lady friends came troopingthrough the brush and looked up at the girls perched so high above them.
"Bla-a-a-t! bla-a-a-at!" quoth the chorus of nannies.
"The same to you, and many of them!" replied Helen, bowing politely.
"Look out! you'll fall from the limb," advised Ruth, much worried.
"And what a fall would then be there, my countrymen!" sighed Helen."Say, Ruth! did you ever notice before what an expressive countenance agoat has? Now, Mr. Billy, here, looks just like a selectman of a countryschool board--long whiskers and all."
"You stop making fun of him," declared Ruth, shaking her head. "I tellyou it makes him mad."
"Goaty, goaty, go away, Come again some other day, Ruthie and Helen want to get down and play!"
sang Helen Cameron, with a most ridiculous expression.
"We'll never get down unless somebody comes to drive that beast away,"cried Ruth, in disgust.
"And I bet nobody comes over to this end of the farm for days at atime."
"That's it! keep on! make it just as bad as you can," groaned Ruth. "Doyou know it will soon be luncheon time, Helen?"
"But that won't bother Mr. Goat. He hopes to lunch off us, I guess."
"But we can't stay here, Helen!" cried Ruth, in despair.
"You have my permission to hop right down, my dear, and make the closeracquaintance of Sir Capricornus, and all the harem. Ex-cuse me! I thinkafter due consideration I will retain my lofty perch---- Ugh!"
"You came pretty near slipping off that time!" exclaimed Ruth. "Iwouldn't be too funny, if I were you."
"Maybe you are right," agreed her friend, in a more subdued tone. "Dearme! let us call again, Ruth!"
So both girls again raised their voices. This time there was a response,but not from the direction of the stone wall they had crossed to reachthe spring.
"Hello!" called a jovial sounding voice. "Hello up there!"
"Hello yourself!" shouted Helen. "Oh, do, _do_ come and drive away theseawful goats."
There was a hearty laugh at this reply, and then a man appeared. Ruthhad guessed his identity before ever he came in view. It was the portlyMr. Caslon.
"Well, well, my dears! how long have you been roosting up there?" hedemanded, laughing frankly at them. "Get out, you rascal!"
This he said to the big goat, who started for him with head lowered. Mr.Caslon leaped nimbly to one side and whacked the goat savagely acrossthe back with his knobby stick. The goat kept right on down thehillside, evidently having had enough of _that_ play, and the nanniesfollowed, bleating.
"You can come down now, young ladies," said the farmer. "But I wouldn'tcome over into this pasture to play much. The goats don't likestrangers."
"We had no business to come here at all, but we forgot," explained Ruth,when both she and her chum had descended from the tree. "We were warnednot to come over on this side of the line."
"Oh, indeed? you're from up on the hill-top?" he asked.
"We are visiting Madge Steele--yes," said Helen, looking at himcuriously.
"Ah! I saw all you young folk going by yesterday. You should have a finetime about here," said the farmer, smiling broadly. "And, aside from thetemper of the goats, I don't mind you all coming over here on my land ifyou like."
The girls thanked him warmly for rescuing them from their predicament,and then ran up the hill to put the stone wall between them and thegoats before there was more trouble.
"I like him," said Helen, referring to Mr. Caslon.
"So do I," agreed Ruth. "And it's too bad that Mr. Steele and he do notunderstand each other."
Although their escapade with the goats was a good joke--and a joke worthtelling to the crowd--Ruth decided that it would be just as well to saynothing about it, and she told Helen so.
"I expect you are right," admitted her chum. "It will only cause commentbecause we went out of bounds, and became acquainted with Mr. Caslon.But I'm glad the old goat introduced us," and she laughed and tossed herhead.
So they joined their friends, who had gotten tired by this time oftobogganing in June, and they all trooped up the hill again to thehouse. It was growing warm, and the hammocks and lounging chairs in theshade of the verandas attracted them until noon.
After luncheon there was tennis and croquet on the lawns, and towardevening everybody went driving, although not in the yellow coach thistime.
The plans for the following day included a long drive by coach to a lakebeyond Darrowtown, where they had a picnic lunch, and boated and fishedand had a glorious time in general.
Bobbins drove as before, but there were two men with the party to do thework and look after the horses, and Mrs. Steele herself was present tohave an oversight of the young folk.
Bob Steele was very proud of his ability to drive the four-in-hand, andwhen they swung through Darrowtown on the return trip, with the whipcracking and Tom tooting the horn, many people stopped to observe thepassing of the turnout.
Every other team got out of their way--even the few automobiles theypassed. But when they got over the first ridge beyond the town and thefour horses broke into a canter, Mrs. Steele, who sat up behind her sonon this journey, suddenly put a hand upon his shoulder and called hisattention to something ahead in the road.
"Do have a care, my son," she said. "There ha
s been an accidentthere--yes? Don't drive too fast----"
"By jiminy!" ejaculated Ralph Tingley. "That's a breakdown, sureenough."
"A farm wagon. There's a wheel off," cried Ann Hicks, leaning out fromthe other end of the seat the better to see.
"And who are all those children in blue?" demanded Mercy Curtis, lookingout from below. "There's such a lot of them! One, two, three, four,five---- Goodness me! they jump about so like fleas that I can't countthem!"
"Why, I bet I know what it is," drawled Bobbins, at last. "It's oldCaslon and his load of fresh airs. He was going to town to meet themto-day, I believe. And he's broken down before he's half way home withthem--and serves him good and right!"